Broken Bird is the debut feature for Joanne Mitchell, who expanded her 2018 short Sybil. The film follows a meek undertaker’s assistant who hides a dark side. Ahead of the movie’s world premiere at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, we caught up with Joanne to learn more about making the film…
STARBURST: Firstly, congratulations on the film.
Joanne Mitchell: Thank you. You make these things, and you don’t know what the reception will be, but I’m really proud of it.
Was it always the plan to expand your short Sybil into a feature?
I always felt that there was more to Sybil, her character, and her story than what you can put across in a 10 to 15-minute short film. I was fascinated by the character, and Tracy [Sheals], who brought the original story to us, felt the same. We spent would meet up to chat about it, developing the story and stuff like that. It’s always the same; I would get diverted by other work and other jobs, so it kept getting shelved. I had a bash at writing the script. And then we asked Dom [Dominic Brunt, Joanne’s husband] to write a screenplay, which he did. It was only about 50 pages, and we got approached by the studio that employed me in the end to make Broken Bird. They really liked the idea. They said it needed to be at least 100 pages, and I think it was 110 in the end. We worked with them to develop the story, but the essence was there. Dom has a great ear for dialogue and character. We really expanded her character, where she comes from, what her motivation is and then wrote the satellite characters and connected them all, and they’ve all got to have heart. There was a lot of work to do to make it hook the audience for an hour and a half. I think between the three of us, we managed to get there in the end.
How was it directing a full feature rather than shorts?
It’s different. I’ve been on film sets with Dom, producing, co-writing, producing, and acting. I know the landscape. We’ve always done micro-budget movies. There’s a stress with that – doing 15 jobs at once because we haven’t got the money to pay line producers – we’ve got to do everything ourselves. The budget for Broken Bird was a lot bigger than what we’d ever worked with. So, although it was daunting because you’ve got a big budget, there’s pressure on you to come up with the goods, not blow it, and not mess up! I felt it was much more comfortable because there was real support around you. You’ve got heads in every single department. You know, people are doing the stuff I would have normally done on the set. It felt really quite comfortable. I’m not going to say it wasn’t hard; there weren’t stresses, and there weren’t struggles and obstacles because there always are. It changes every single day, but it was nothing like what I’d experienced before. I could really focus on the directing. I knew what I wanted. My vision was very clear in how the look should be and what my shots would be. I’d done a camera plan before I even went to Serbia. And then when I saw the locations, obviously, it’s all going to change. But having a blueprint gave me a bit of confidence so that when I did need to change it, it’s fine. I worked really closely with our DOP, Igor Marovic, who’s also from Belgrade. It was great. It was nothing compared to what I’ve had to put up with.
The film deals with some very sensitive subjects, such as trauma and loss. Did that make it harder on set?
You know what, no. I think it’s a really good question because there are some really dark, serious, sensitive moments, not just with Sybil but also with Emma and her child. Everyone was really professional. The crew were very discreet. When we wanted to rehearse, and I wanted all the crew off so that I could rehearse with the actors so they didn’t feel vulnerable, the crew would go outside or whatever, and we would have that time together so that the actors felt comfortable. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of much time in rehearsal beforehand, so we grabbed what moments we could. The crew was Serbian, and a lot of them didn’t speak English, so I don’t know whether that was a help, really. They were very respectful of the actors. Everyone was friendly, but they kept their distance in the sense that they let the actors do their stuff. I remember there being quite a lot of laughter. And most of the emotional stuff was on Rebecca’s shoulders as well as Sasha’s [Sacharissa Claxton]. We talked extensively about their journeys as their characters. We got a lot of stuff out in the open, so they were prepared. Then you’ve got people like James Fleet who, well, he’s a legend. He’s a pro, and there’s not much directing needed with James. What an amazing actor! Some of the stuff that he was doing, like when he broke down and cried because he missed his wife; he was on the floor crying – he just did it.
What was the casting process like? There are a couple of returning people from your previous films. How did you find the rest of them?
Because I was obviously going to be in Belgrade, in Serbia, a country I’d never been to before, I was quite nervous. I felt like I needed to have people around me that I could trust. I knew James Fleet, Jay Taylor, and Rupert Proctor from other films before, so that was a natural strategy. However, I didn’t cast them because I wanted my friends in it, I knew that they could do it and they were right for the parts, but it worked out really well for me. I needed allies if that makes any sense. Then there was Rebecca and Sasha, who plays Emma, and Robyn [Rainsford], who plays Tina. I knew Robyn vaguely, but I didn’t know her work, but she auditioned, and I thought she was great. Obviously, Rebecca is fantastic. When I saw her tape, I didn’t know her; the same goes for Sasha. I found I was really lucky with that. I didn’t actually meet Rebecca and Sasha before they came to Serbia either because we were in Belgrade in pre-production. It was all done on Zoom, so it was a bit of a gamble. It feels a bit weird when you meet them five days before they’re about to start shooting, and the deal is done! But I was really, really happy with the casting.
Rebecca is excellent.
Oh, isn’t she? She’s otherworldly, I think. I saw a lot of actresses for Sybil, and everyone was great. Everyone had their own thing going on. I always wanted her to be northern, and I wanted there to be something different about her. When I saw Rebecca’s tape, I just was like, “Oh yeah, that’s the one”. She had this enigmatic quality; I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I I could tell that she could go to dark places and light places. When I met her on Zoom, she was such a lovely, warm, kind person. And then I thought, yeah, she can definitely do this; I know she’s got that in her. She did the audition in a Geordie accent because her family are from the Northeast, and that’s what clinched it for me. I’d never imagined it to be from the northeast. The Geordie accent is such a friendly, kind accent, and they’re lovely people, so it’s such a great juxtaposition as to who she is and what she is capable of. She was a joy to work with.
What was the biggest challenge you had?
Well, time is always a massive challenge. We had 25 days to shoot 145 scenes in various different locations. So
it was, it was hard work. So that was one big thing, but that’s always the case in every single movie. It’s always time. I suppose the first challenge was how I was going to make this look like the north of England. When you’re driving from the airport through Belgrade, it’s very brutalist architecture. How am I going to find an English pub? I had to be adaptable and change certain locations to suit the landscape that we were filming in.
One other thing, which was a bit of a challenge at first, was the language barrier. More so when I was going on scouting, recceing and tech recces, because I was the only English person there, and I didn’t speak Serbian! Some of them speak really good English, and they’re all lovely people. But they’re going to chat in Serbian. Sometimes you feel slightly left out, and sometimes things get lost in translation. But that was all ironed out. Once you can get your head around that, it all worked out fine.
Do you have a favourite memory?
I think the memory that sticks with me was when we were doing a night shoot in the house where Sybil lived, and we had to set it on fire. We didn’t really set fire to the house, but there were pipes and flames and stuff like that. We were really up against it with time, and it felt like we couldn’t get it done. I didn’t get all the shots that I wanted. But it was so magical when I saw the two versions of that room where she dances in at the end when I saw the beautiful ballroom, and then I saw it when it’s distressed. We had to do them on two different nights, obviously. So it was all beautiful one night, and then the art department had been there for 12 hours and completely distressed it. And it was incredible. I couldn’t believe it. They’d even put vines and stuff. I was so amazed. It’s always been such a scramble on previous movies, and suddenly you’ve got this incredible art department doing everything. This is probably really normal for most big-budget movies or even some independent films. But for me, it was magic.
The film premiers at FrightFest, are you excited for that?
I’m trying not to think about it, although I keep getting slightly giddy and then going, “Oh, I feel sick!” But what an honour to open their incredible film festival on their 25th anniversary. There feels a little bit of pressure. And I hear it sold out, which is great. Nerves and excitement are two sides of the same coin, aren’t they? So I can’t tell you if I’m nervous or excited, I feel them both! I’m super grateful that they wanted the film.
At least being the first film, you can relax for the rest of the weekend.
That’s it! Normally, you’re feeling sick from most of it, and then you relax. So I’m just going to have a ball. I really want to enjoy it as well. I mean, whenever am I going to get a film at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square, where a film festival is opening? It might never happen again, so I’m determined to have a really good time. There’s going to be a lot of cast there, and it’s going to be great. The FrightFest audience is just brilliant, and they’re so supportive. If they don’t like something, I know they’ll let you know it, because they know their genre! But I think we’re in good hands, the team, Alan, Paul, Greg and Ian have been always really supportive of myself and Dom over the years.
BROKEN BIRD screens as the opening film at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 23rd at 5.30pm.
